Hi Rob, Very nice that you were able to do that, and so quickly. I'm not sure of others, but I can certainly live with "--"...since I already have. The comment that I posted was from a "potential" JAL beginner. If your change does make it into the compiler, I might use it, since I am used to C comment syntax. And I could post the change to the Microchip forum thread and see if there are any other potential JAL user barriers.
Since we're on the topic, if I wanted to look into the JAL compiler code to get some understanding of how it works...What would I use to compile it? I have Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Studio 2005, Visual Studio 2010 Express, and Open Watcom. Regards, Mike On Thursday, November 26, 2020 at 3:40:27 PM UTC-5 [email protected] wrote: > Hi Mike, > > I thought that since the compiler handles '--' as comment it might as well > be modified easily to also accept '//' as comment so I added the '//' as > test to the compiler and that seems to work. The only disadvantage is that > the syntax highlighting with JALEdit and JALIDE does not change since it > does not recognize it as comments but it will still syntax highlighting the > keywords. > > So this now passes the modified version of the compiler: > > // My forever loop > forever loop > led = ON > _usec_delay(100_000) // Comment > led = OFF > _usec_delay(400_000) > end loop > > In the above example the keyword 'forever' is syntax highlighted in the > forever loop as well in the text 'My forever loop' so that is a bit > confusing. I do not think that JALEdit will be changed but I do think that > it could be fixed in JALIDE since Despx has been working on that. > > So with this change the compiler would accept ';' '--' and '//' for > comment. Not sure what other think of this change. The request to have > multiple comment lines using /* ... */ is not easy to fix. > > If others think this is a welcomed change I can implement it in a final > release of the compiler. > > Kind regards, > > Rob > > > Op maandag 23 november 2020 om 22:26:15 UTC+1 schreef Mike: > >> Hi Rob, >> >> My thanks as well for all of your efforts. >> >> A few things that come to mind that I have given thought to in the past: >> >> * I agree that YouTube videos would help. So many people are using >> YouTube to get started in things. >> >> * Whenever I start working with a new PIC I'm surprised that the "sample" >> programs are almost all using crystals. I take the sample program for my >> new PIC and change it to use the internal oscillator. I think the internal >> oscillator should be the default sample program as it's easier to get going >> and not everyone may have crystals on hand. >> >> * Some of the home page links are confusing. The "jallib" support link >> does lead here, but the "jallist" support link doesn't go to the Google >> group. The "jallib" main site link goes to a no longer used Google code >> archive. These might be confusing to newcomers. I'm also not sure of >> the difference between the "jallist" and "jallib" groups. >> >> * I'm not sure if it's clear on the home page how to install JAL or how >> to update it when a new "bee" is released. >> >> * One Microchip forum user commented about JAL, earlier in the year: >> " There are some things about the JAL language that I don't like. For >> instance, why use "--" for comments rather than the more standard "//" or >> "/* ... */" pair? Well, they are standard in C, C++, and the "//" in >> Delphi. The "--" is used in Ada and several other languages, and there are >> many others: >> >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comment_(computer_programming) >> >> I see that neither Delphi nor JAL are listed in that Wiki page. Maybe >> they should be added. " >> >> * One thing I personally don't like about JAL is the libraries' use of >> lowercase, which I find difficult to read. There have been a few libraries >> that I have created before they existed in JAL, but have been hesitant to >> contribute them since I don't like conforming to the all lowercase standard. >> >> Just some thoughts. Don't take them as criticisms, but as honest >> feedback. >> >> Regards, >> Mike >> >> On Monday, November 23, 2020 at 12:42:38 PM UTC-5 [email protected] >> wrote: >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I am looking for ways to improve the popularity of JAL and I would like >>> to hear your reaction on this topic. >>> >>> Currently JAL is still maintained, that is new device files are >>> generated when new PICs are released, compiler issues are fixed (if >>> possible) and new libraries are released. In 2020, libraries where created >>> for the following devices: nRF24L01+ transceiver, digital potentiometers >>> X9C102, X9C103, X9C104, X9C503, TM1637, SSD1306 graphics display module, >>> nRF905 transceiver, Si5351a clock generator and a library for DFPlayer Mini. >>> >>> I would like to see that more people use JAL and more people would like >>> to contribute. >>> >>> Some ideas to get more people interested: >>> -) Add more libraries (not sure which though) >>> -) Create a multi-platform IDE (Windows, Linux, Mac) >>> -) Post Youtube video's about getting started with JAL >>> -) Extend the JAL language (not possible by me since fixing compiler >>> bugs is not the same as extending the compiler with new features) >>> -) .... >>> >>> Looking forward to your suggestions. >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> Kind regards, >>> >>> Rob >>> >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "jallib" group. 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